11 July 2024 -- Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced the evacuation of its staff from a major hospital in southern Khartoum following repeated violent attacks on the hospital which is in RSF-controlled territory.
Without any surgical capacity at the Turkish Hospital, civilians and particularly pregnant women and infants will be disproportionately affected as over 80% of all surgeries at the hospital in the past year were emergency cesarean sections for pregnant women.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that up to 80% of healthcare facilities in conflict-areas were nonfunctional. In Khartoum in particular, the health system has been in dire condition for months with MSF reporting in January that it was on the verge of collapse.
In the past 15 months of war, healthcare facilities and medical workers have repeatedly been targeted across the country by belligerents. In 2023, there were 257 incidents of violence against or obstruction of health services in Sudan, compared to only 54 in the previous year. According to Insecurity Insights, 56 health workers were killed during that period. At least 63 health facilities were damaged or destroyed. Respect for the most basic principles of international humanitarian law continues to erode. If civilians do not die by bombings or gunfire, they will likely succumb to their injuries due to their inability to access medical care.
Though Turkish Hospital will remain open to provide medical assistance to the local community, surgery will no longer be possible without MSF staff. The hospital has routinely received patients from Khartoum and as far away as Madani, almost 200km away.
Voices from the Ground
Avaaz is in contact with human rights defenders, civilians, and Emergency Response Room (ERRs) volunteers across Sudan. If you would like to be connected with people on the ground, please reach out to: shayna@avaaz.org or media@avaaz.org
Names have been changed due to safety concerns.
DARFUR: the situation continues to deteriorate in El Fasher, where almost 330,000 people have been displaced in the last three months according to the IOM.
"Amjed" told Avaaz: “People are in dire need of healthcare, food and water. They are also in dire need of shelters, because the autumn season is around the corner and many schools are not good enough [shelters]. They also face many diseases as a result. We call for humanitarian organizations to take immediate action to help the people who remain here.
“The situation in El Fasher is getting a little bit better in the last three days. We don’t hear the gunshots this week and even the bombing is getting less than ever before. But people have a strong desire to leave because they expect that the bombing may start again.
"We are the people who remain here in the camp. We take many ways to avoid injury from bombings. Some people have made shelters [...] to protect themselves. Some people have nowhere to go. Most of the people who left El Fasher went back to their original areas but there are some people who have nowhere to go, specifically, their previous areas are controlled by the RSF so they are unable to go there which is why they stay here [in El Fasher] they did everything they could to protect themselves."
Endnote:
I'm Shayna Lewis, a Sudan Specialist with Avaaz, reporting this week from London. This dispatch is the latest in a weekly series designed to support the international media's coverage of the war in Sudan.
The weekly dispatch features the latest developments, first-hand testimony, footage, photos, stats and analysis on Sudan. We can connect you with voices from the ground, experts and survivors of the war. I am available at +44 7935 296 004 / shayna@avaaz.org OR media@avaaz.org
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The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is building an earthen wall around El Fasher to create a “kill box” and prevent civilians fleeing the besieged city, satellite imagery suggests.
People caught trying to smuggle food into the besieged city of El Fasher are being “executed on sight” by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to one civilian.
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